"Hunger Games" Book Page Necklace

Hello, all! If you know me at all, you know just how much I enjoy books. After all, I do have a degree in Library Media, so really it comes with the territory. I read as often as I can, and as such I've picked up many many MANY books over the course of my life, several of which have become favorites. Have you read The Hunger Games trilogy yet? If not, YOU NEED TO! I love these books, and I've been really excited for the movie ever since I heard they were actually making one. In my little circle of friends, we enjoy nothing more than getting all hyped up for a midnight movie premiere, then dressing our best and attending with other fans. That being said, I've had my tickets for the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games for over a month now, and the day is nearly here! I knew that I wanted to deck out in Hunger Games gear when I attended the premiere, so the gears in my head started spinning, and I remembered some picture frame pendants that I picked up at Hobby Lobby several weeks ago, fully intending to make a necklace for my Grandmother with pictures of us Grandkids inside. Needless to say, when I started plotting to make some Hunger Games jewelry for the premiere, that necklace never got made. Instead, I used that picture frame pendant to make the necklace I'm featuring below. Its OK, though. I'll pick up another pendant the next time that I'm in Hobby Lobby, and get that to her by Mother's Day! I fully intended on posting this earlier in the week so that others could make their own Hunger Games necklace for the premiere, but alas, I am still a procrastinator, even though I've been out of college for a semester now.

Hunger Games Book Page Necklace

You Need:

• A picture frame pendant
• A chain to put your finished pendant on
• Additional charms for your necklace (I added an arrowhead charm for Katniss!)
• You may need jump rings to attach your pendant to your chain, or charms to your necklace
• Jewelry pliers are always handy for attaching jump rings
• Old book pages ( I know it seems like sacrilige to cut up a book. I suppose that you could copy the passage you'd like to use, but only if you feel comfortable breaking copyright laws. Thankfully, I have two copies of Mockingjay, one of which has severe water damage throughout. One must be careful while reading books on a raft in the swimming pool. I have learned this.

Directions:

1. Prepare your pendant by taking the glass out, and making sure that it is clean. You wouldn't want to assemble your pendant, only to find out that the other side of the glass or plastic is dirty. Here is the type of pendant that I used for this project, along with my other supplies.

2. Cut the book page you've picked out to fit your frame. My frame is clear on both sides, so I had to to cut two squares for mine. You may only have to cut out one, it just depends on your frame. Make sure to trim the edges so that your paper doesn't wrinkle when you put it in the frame. After inserting your quote, close up your pendant.



3. Attach any charms or beads onto your pendant. I chose an arrowhead (I wanted a whole arrow, but couldn't find one), since it represents Katniss so well.

4. Its time to attach your pendant to your necklace. I used a jump ring to attach mine, but you may be able to simply slide yours onto your chain. Like I said earlier, this all depends on the kind of pendant that you purchased.

Now you can wear around your awesome Hunger Games necklace, and when other fans ask you where you got it, you can proudly tell them that you made it yourself! Hopefully, you'll have time to make your own before the premiere of the movie! May the odds be ever in your favor!









Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Hello, all! We've been experiencing some weird weather as of late in my beautiful home-state. One day, its raining. The next, its snowing. Two days later, it may be sunny with a high of  °75. Just a few days ago, tornadoes ripped through several counties in this great state, and left towns destroyed and families displaced from their homes. I encourage all of you to give all that you can to disaster relief efforts that will benefit these families. I know that there are several drop off locations in Letcher County that are collecting non-perishable food items, cleaning supplies, baby items, blankets, and other supplies. I know that all supplies, support, and prayers are welcome.

As I'm typing this, I hear birds singing outside of my front door. It is warm, sunny, and beautiful in this little hollow that I live in. A few days ago, this is what I saw outside of my front door.

Believe it or not, there IS a road there. This was only an hour or so after the snow started coming down. Needless to say, Josh and I didn't leave Doty Creek for a few days. Winter weather always makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good book, and something warm and yummy to eat. During this particular winter storm, I decided that I didn't want chili, or any other kind of soup, but I wanted something low maintenance that I could stick in a crock pot, and cook all day long. So, I broke out the trusty First Baptist Church Cookbook, and started browsing.

I LOVE my First Baptist Church Cookbook. I basically learned to cook using the recipes of the men and women that helped build my church. If you know me at all, you know that I have been a member of First Baptist since I was born in 1987. I grew up in my church, and love my church family like my real family. That is why this cookbook is so special to me. Its like a little part of my Church history, and so its like a little part of my history.

After I started flipping through the cook book (which has a whole section dedicated entirely to slow cookers), I found a recipe for crock pot chicken and dumplings. It sounded so good, that I just had to try it. It certainly didn't disappoint. The best part is that I got to throw everything into the crock pot, and let it do all of the hard work for me. I even had time to go outside and roll around in the snow with my Siberian Husky!





She looooooves snow! She was so excited that she couldn't stand still! This was the only picture that she would stand still for! After rolling around in the snow with Nami, I came back in and got warm with a nice bowl of chicken and dumplings, then curled up with a good book. After finishing off a second bowl for lunch the next day, I knew that I had to share this recipe with you!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Slightly modified from the recipe of Mrs. Peyton Reynolds

You need:

4 chicken breasts (the recipe calls for boneless, but I just used the split breasts that I had in the freezer)

2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups of water

1/3 cup of onion, finely chopped

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 (10 oz.) cans of refrigerated biscuits

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken breasts into small chunks. Since I used split breasts, I boiled them for about 20 minutes with some butter, then pulled the chicken from the bone in chunks after cooling.

2. Combine all ingredients, except for biscuits, in the crock pot.

 3. Cover, and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.

4. Tear biscuit dough into 3-4 pieces, and gently stir into the crock pot.

5. Cook an additional 40-45 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through.

6. ENJOY!

 I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do! When I asked Josh if he liked it, all he could do was give me thumbs up, because he was too busy eating! Happy cooking!